In the course of erecting steel structures, a thick coating of inorganic material is commonly applied to the metallic structural elements to achieve a number of objectives including fire retardance, improved appearance and sound deadening. While several types of formulations have been applied for these purposes over the years by means of a variety of techniques, one successful system consists of spraying onto the steel surfaces settable aqueous mixes composed essentially of calcined gypsum, a lightweight inorganic aggregate material such as exfoliated vermiculite, a mixture of fibrous materials such as a high wet bulking cellulose fiber and glass fiber, and an air entraining agent. A composition of this type is described by Bragg in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,719,573 and 3,839,059, along with the most desirable application technique, i.e., pumping the aqueous mix and spraying it directly onto the steel in one layer.
In order to be suitable for such use, coating mixes, both in the wet and dry state, must possess a number of crucial properties. They must be able to hold the large quantity of water that renders them capable of being pumped easily and to great heights. Yet they must retain a consistency sufficient to prevent segregation or settling of ingredients and permit adequate "yield" or coverage of the steel surface at a given thickness. The coating mixes, furthermore, must obviously adhere to steel surfaces, both in the slurried state and in the dry state. Also, the mix must set without the undue expansion or shrinkage which could only result in the formation of cracks that would seriously deter from the insulative value of the dry coating.
As intimated earlier, this complex balance of properties has been substantially achieved heretobefore by gypsum-vermiculite mixes containing cellulosic fiber. However, vermiculite is a naturally occurring mineral which is subject to variation in quality, consistency, and uniformity. Moreover, since the vermiculite mineral must be expanded at very high temperatures prior to use, its cost is subject to unpredictable variations in energy cost.
An alternative to the gypsum-vermiculite mixes is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,751,024 assigned to the assignee of the instant invention. Specifically, sprayable cementitious compositions containing shredded polystyrene as a lightweight aggregate are taught as fireproofing compositions for structural steel members. The instant invention is directed to an improvement of the compositions disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,751,024.